Last Sunday morning (November 24), Michelle and I traveled to Frontenac County, one hour north of Kingston, Ontario. Exiting the 401 highway in Belleville, we traveled northeast through the small town of Tweed and continued our trip through scenic rural east Ontario, until we reached our destination of West Frontenac. The purpose of our early morning road trip was to attend the wedding of a young couple. I had counseled with this young couple, hosting pre-marital sessions in my church office, and the day had finally arrived for me to officiate the service and for the couple to tie the proverbial wedding knot.
Upon arriving at the guest house where the wedding would take place, I immediately noticed chairs on the front lawn with a speaker system set up. This small detail in the wedding invitation had been overlooked on my part. Michelle looked at the invitation again, which I had on my phone, and informed me that in fine print, the invitation stated to dress warmly for an outdoor wedding. Listen carefully; a late November wedding in Eastern Ontario is not the place to be without your winter coat. I am so blessed to be married to Michelle, who is detail-oriented, while I have been accused of being a big-picture type of person. My detailed wife was prepared for the outdoor environment even without seeing the fine print note on the wedding invitation. Common sense had inspired Michelle to make sure we did not leave home that morning without our winter coats. I must say, she is a keeper! Back to the wedding service, the outdoor wedding was short and inspiring, and all the guests who also missed the fine print note regarding the outdoor wedding were most thankful for the twenty-five-minute abbreviated service.
Do you know that men and women think differently? Misunderstandings, grief, and trouble occur in marriage because of this concept of thinking differently, even when passion, intimacy, and commitment are present in the relationship. When we fail to recognize that men and women are wired differently, we are bound to end up on the wrong side of marriage happiness. On Saturday night, the Family Life Ministry Department of Willowdale will present the topic, “The Tale of Two Brains.” The subject matter that will be shared and discussed at the event may be critical information that may send attending couples on a new road of happiness in their marriage journey. Remember, after every wedding comes a marriage, and a healthy marriage requires mutual, continuous effort.
Michelle and I are super excited to join the Willowdale Family Life Ministry team. As a group, we have decided that we want to strengthen the marriages and families of Willowdale in 2025. This evening, we will launch our collective vision and hope to inspire and motivate couples in marriage. We do not apologize for emphasizing marriage; God created marriage, and a church is a healthy place when we have strong, healthy marriages. Our goal is to have an evening of fun, laughter, instruction, fellowship, and some tasty food. If you chose to skip this meeting or did not pre-register, please prayerfully consider joining us in upcoming events sponsored by the Family Life Department. Please know that if the door is closed for tonight’s event because you did not pre-register, I have some good news for you today. Jesus’ invitation is still available today. Jesus stands at the door, offering salvation full and free to anyone who will say yes. Maranatha!